Ch 19. Through the eye of the needle
"Bye bye life!", he said and he aimed the gun to her head.
Helen closed her eyes and braced herself.
"Pang!", he laughed.
She opened her eyes again and looked at him in panic.
No! What a dirty game is this? I can't stand this any longer!
He aimed again and Helen embraced herself again, mumbling "No! Please!".
He pulled the trigger and a dry 'click' was heard.
He laughed again.
Helen looked at him wildered and tears streamed down.
"I did just only my job! Believe me!", she stuttered.
"And I have to believe that huh? Do you really think that I'm dumb?", he sneered.
Kate arrived a second later with a small metal torch.
"Yeah, exactly what I need", Maxine said softly.
She wanted to turn the corner of the house, but she stopped in her movement. She slipped off her pumps. "They will make too much noise on the pavement", she whispered.
"I told you, my time for fun now. Maybe I'm firing now", he said with a grin as he activated the gun again.
He lifted the gun to aim.
"No! Please!", she begged and she looked wild around to catch the environment for the last time.
Halfway his hand lingered in the air when he felt a cold piece of metal in his neck.
"Drop the gun, you rascal or your brains are scattered around", he heard a female voice behind him.
At the same time a strong male hand took the gun from him. Andrew checked if the gun was loaded.
"Yeah, he meant it this time", he said and he pushed the barrel behind the ear of the man.
"No jokes! I've been a paratrooper and I'll break your neck even before you'll know it!", he said convincingly.
Oakes lifted slowly his both hands.
Kate ran to her mother and embraced her to find some comfort.
"Ma, wat gebeurt er allemaal? " (Mum, what's happing), she sobbed confused.
"Schatje, het is ok!" (darling, it's ok), Helen said difficultly.
Maxine padded to her. "Helen you're ok?"
Helen looked at her. "I guess so, yes?", she stammered trying to compose her quickly and looked at her hands which were shaking as a leaf in the wind. She wiped hasty the tears from her cheeks.
"Yes, sorry that I've to be rude, but we have to proceed. Do you have bandages and a rope?", Maxine asked firmly.
"Uh, yeah, … yeah, of course", Helen answered still confused.
"Ok, can you get me that? Quickly! Please", she insisted.
"Yeah, …. Yeah", Helen answered and she stood upright and stumbled as quick as she could inside.
An instance later she came back and she noticed that they have moved Oakes to the garage.
"Here you go", she said, "but why these bandages?"
Maxine gave her one of her best captain looks. "First we put bandages around his wrists and then the rope. We don't want that they see that he was tied up, not?"
After they have tied him up they heard a car fiercely stopping and an instance later an angry voice behind them.
"You want to know what? There was nobody at all in Menin. I became almost a statue there!", Mike raged but his anger froze instantly when he saw the scenery. "But what the heck…"
"The man you were waiting for is here", Helen said dryly, but she was still trembling like mad. Kate leaned with her back against the wall and couldn't really catch what was happening in front of her.
"Honey! What's going on here?", he asked startled seeing the tied up man, the determined faces of Maxine and Andrew and his completely upset family.
Maxine looked at him, "Mike, get some cleaning gloves and some bottles of alcohol. Then take Helen and Kate to the city. Get some drinks to calm down and manage that some people see you. Make sure that they remember you!", she said to him. She turned to Andrew. "Go with them, I don't want to involve you in this as well."
"Nope Max, whatever you do, we'll do it together. I'll think you'll need some help. Over and out!", he said determined.
She looked at him and realised that arguing wouldn't help. "Ok, but you Mike, go to the city with them and that's an order", she said turning to Mike.
"Ok, I'll go, but Max, don't do silly things", he said unsure and walked inside.
Maxine replied to him with a wink, then she turned to the tied up man.
"Ok, rascal, we're going to have a drink, but my partner may not drink and I can't bear much alcoholic beverages, thus you're going to drink alone, huh", she said to Oakes.
When Mike returned with the items Maxine had asked for it, he ushered Helen and Kate outside. Helen went quickly inside again to grab her handbag and to slip into the first pair of shoes she found.
In silence the Flynn family drove to Ypres. Kate stared in trance outside the window and Helen cried in silence. Mike squeezed her thigh to comfort her.
"Mike, when is it finally going to stop? I can't bear it any longer", she said faintly.
They found a place at one of the terraces at the market square and when Helen and Kate sipped from their wine and ice tea they started to defrost.
"Ma, wie was dat? Waarom wou die op jou schieten? Waarom noemde die jou Kate McGregor? Wat is hier verdomme aan de hand?", the girl asked irritated.
"Let op je taal Kate! (Watch your language Kate!)", Helen grumbled but she didn't answer further.
Kate didn't give up. "Mum, what's going on? Who was that? Why did that man want to kill you? Why did he call you Kate McGregor? Why Kate? That's me", she repeated her questions in English now.
Helen took a deep breath and looked at her right hand that was still trembling. With her left she clenched one of Mike's.
Mike took over. "Listen dear, you know that we were both in the Navy in Australia before we came here. But you still don't know why we came here."
The girl nodded and shook her head in relation to what her dad said.
"One day they asked mum to go under cover in a big arms smuggling operation."
"Cool!", she said impressed.
"It wasn't that cool, on the contrary. These guys didn't know mercy. The guy you saw was the manager of the gang. Due to a few sad circumstances the operation turned out a bit different than expected. A few men died unnecessary and the worst of all he knew that mum passed all the info to the Fed's. She could escape and the Fed's simulated that she died in a bomb explosion."
Meanwhile Helen stared at blank in her glass of wine.
"And then you both came to here?", Kate asked.
"No, it was so dangerous for mum that the Fed's didn't tell me, so I was persuaded that she really has died."
"Gosh!"
"It was only after a desperate call from mum to Maxine and her help that I discovered by accident that she was still alive. She got another identity and another name as well, Helen Porter."
"Oh? And how did you call before mum?", she asked her mother.
"Kate McGregor", Helen answered.
"I see. Wow, McGregor, like the fashion stores! Cool!", she replied enthusiastically.
"And you dad? Do you have also another name?"
"No dear, I've always been Flynn."
"And what about me? Was I born in Australia?", she asked frowning.
"No, you were born here", Helen replied.
Kate's face was one question mark. "But then, dad, you were here also?"
"No, I was pregnant at the moment that the undercover operation started, but nobody knew about it. That wasn't clever from me. I had to say that, but we were still at the same boat and it could have cost us our career. Anyhow, how you turn or twist it, it has cost us our careers. We lived here and we couldn't go back and dad lived there", Helen continued sadly.
"That was my last operation at sea. Afterwards I had my shore posting back", Mike said.
"That's awful! And how did you choose for my name Kate mum?"
"I wanted something from my old life around me", she said shrugging.
"I see. Thus, I'm half and half Belgian and Australian?", Kate asked.
"Yeah, that's probably the most accurate approach!", Helen said smiling when she rubbed Kate's shoulder.
Quite some time and a few drinks later Mike looked at his watch. "Hmm, time to go I think. It has been long enough."
Helen panicked. "And if that guy is still there?"
He put his hand on her upper arm. "No worries darling. I trust Maxine. She knows what she's doing."
Helen sighed, stood upright and stretched her dress. "Oh Jesus!", she exclaimed.
"What?", Mike asked.
"I've must have been totally confused when I left. These flat brown shoes don't match my dress. I haven't even tied the laces."
"Honey, you were completely upset. You should for less when someone was at the point to kill you. Do you feel better now?", he asked.
"Yeah! But I'm afraid it will take time to get rid of the idea", she replied grimacing.
They walked back to the car and drove homewards. The road which they followed ran a little bit parallel to the rail-road.
"Hey, look at that! There must be a train accident or so", Kate said when they saw in the distance lots of blue flash lights.
"Hmm, probably someone who didn't saw the train at the crossing", Mike said barely interested.
Once at home Helen sent Kate to her bed and they both went to the garage, but they couldn't see any trace of what happened before. The chair stood again in the garden, no rope, no bandages, no bottles, nothing and Andrew's and Maxine's car was still parked in front of the house. The couple looked at each other and shrugged, just like it has been a bad dream. When they entered their living room they found a paper on the dining table with the message in Maxine's handwriting 'All clear'.
The next day when Maxine and Andrew entered the dining room for their breakfast Mike and Helen were waiting for them. The radio was playing and the sun threw a pleasant shine inside.
"Good morning! How did it pass yesterday?", Mike asked.
"Good morning to you both", Maxine answered with a smile. "Yesterday? Hmm, we've had a nice chat with that bloke and he decided to leave", she said plainly.
"Uh? Just leave? Nothing more, nothing less?", Mike replied astonished.
"And if he comes back? He looked to me very determined to …", Helen said but the last bit of the sentence was too much for her and she turned away from them to compose herself again.
"Well, I'm persuaded that we convinced him to stay away, definitely", she said with a slight smile. Can I have some bacon please?"
"Uh? Yeah sure!", Helen hurried to say and walked to the kitchen.
Meanwhile the broadcast news started and they heard that the train from Ypers to Kortrijk was stopped yesterday night due to a suicide. It must have been a desperate action because an empty bottle of alcohol was found aside. Curiously there were no identity papers found on the man
"Huh, we've seen that last night!", Mike remarked while he prepared two glasses of orange juice for them.
Meanwhile Helen came back from the kitchen with plates with cold slices of meat and cheese.
"Yeah, those things could happen", Maxine deadpanned
Mike and Helen looked at each other, their eyes full with questions and they shrugged once more.
A few days later Maxine and Andrew have packed and were at the point to say good-bye to Mike and Helen.
"So Mike, Helen, that was it. It was a splendid stay here, congratulations", she said
"It's a pleasure Maxine", Helen answered.
"What are our costs?", she asked them.
"Max, you ought to know that. It's a small gift from our side because you managed to bring us back together", he said wrapping his arm around Helen's shoulders.
"Ok, then. Right, we have here a few new bottles for the ones that we 'lent' a few days ago", she said handing over a bag with two bottles of whisky.
Mike took the bag over. "Uh?"
"Well, he drank a bit too much you see. By the way, are you going to stay here or do you want to plan to come back?", she asked with a cheeky smile.
She saw them frowning. "It's harmless now. We guarantee that."
"But how?", Helen replied.
"Haven't you heard the news broadcast of a few days ago?", Maxine said with an innocent glance.
"Uh, yeah, but what has that to do with us?", Mike said a bit irritated.
"Mike, since you're not at sea anymore, you're not quick minded anymore", she said teasingly. "Our guest,…. drank too much and for sure he stumbled under that train. Yes?", she said persuasively.
"Hmm, yeah", Mike said and he exchanged a glance with Helen.
"Maxine, as I told you before. We're settled here now and Kate is growing up here. If we should go back then we three have to start from scratch again and I don't want to do that again. If we go, then it would be for a holidays", Helen replied.
"All right. Fairs winds!", Maxine said and they said each other good-bye.
"Thanks for keeping it silent", Mike said when Maxine stepped in the car.
"Hmm, I'm sorry, I had to tell just one person", she admitted.
Mike's and Helen's face froze.
"But it's completely harmless. She will be the last person on earth to do something to you", she said before closed the door.
They drove away and Mike and Helen looked at each other processing Maxine's last sentence.
"Nikki!", they said both.
To be continued